With one on and one out in a tie game, Mattingly called upon Ethier, who had been left out of the starting lineup because of a bruised right knee. Naturally, the Padres countered with lefty specialist Marc Rzepczynski -- precisely the move Mattingly had anticipated.
That's when Mattingly dug even deeper into his September bench for Ruggiano -- owner of a career .502 slugging percentage against left-handers. Ruggiano had faced Rzepczynski only once -- the night before when he laced an RBI single to left-center.
Ruggiano crushed Rzepczynski's a 1-0 sinker over the center-field fence, giving the Dodgers a 5-3 lead, and sparking a five-run inning.